Police: Ex-boyfriend threatened to kill woman, new boyfriend

NEWMARKET — A Hampton man is being held on $10,000 cash bail after he allegedly burst into his ex-girlfriend's apartment while the woman's 6-year-old daughter was home and threatened to kill the woman and her new boyfriend, according to court records and Newmarket police.

NEWMARKET — A Hampton man is being held on $10,000 cash bail after he allegedly burst into his ex-girlfriend's apartment while the woman's 6-year-old daughter was home and threatened to kill the woman and her new boyfriend, according to court records and Newmarket police.

Brian Callahan, 25, of 827 Lafayette Road, Hampton, waived a probable cause hearing Tuesday in the 10th Circuit District Court in Brentwood. He faces a litany of charges in connection with the alleged Dec. 21 incident at the Exeter Road home. Police said he brandished a pistol at the couple — it turned out to be a BB gun but they didn't know that at the time — and brought a 5- to 6-inch long butterfly knife with him and a ski mask, according to court records.

Newmarket police Lt. Kyle True said Officer Joseph Bozek responded to the scene after the victim's new boyfriend called 911 to tell them Callahan had burst into their home, according to a report filed at District Court in Brentwood.

True and Bozek arrived at the home and could hear “yelling and screaming,” inside the apartment, and when they went inside, they found Callahan, who they described as “highly intoxicated and belligerent,” trying to hide something inside the pocket of his sweatshirt, according to the court document.

“For our safety we requested that he show us his hands to which he refused,” True said in the court document. “He pulled away and began to physically fight our attempts to place handcuffs on him. During the scuffle, he was subdued to the ground. As he hit the ground, his once concealed right hand released the object he was attempting to conceal … a black metal knife.”

True said the ordeal left the couple and the 6-year-old girl shaken.

“The victims were both extremely upset and the 6-year-old girl was traumatized,” True said during an interview Tuesday in his office. “Six-year-old girls are supposed to feel safe at home.”

True declined to comment on what Callahan intended to do with the knife and the ski mask, which was described in court documents as having a “skull face on it.”

Callahan's alleged actions on Dec. 21 came after Bozek gave the suspect a “verbal no trespassing order,” to stay away from the woman and her home after showing up there on Dec. 19, according to the court document.

Callahan's ex-girlfriend told police he forced his way into her home on Dec. 21 by pushing her out of the doorway, according to the court document.

“Once inside, he pulled out a gun and told the occupants it was loaded,” the woman told police.

“Callahan repeatedly held the gun in the face of (the woman),” and then “began telling her he was going to kill her.”

Callahan also kept grabbing the woman's wrist, which was in a brace from a recent surgery, according to the court document.

Callahan also “pointed the gun in the face of (his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend) and threatened to kill him,” according to the court document.

The man then began to struggle with Callahan and wrestled the gun away from him and threw it across the room, according to the document.

It took police three to four minutes of struggling with Callahan before they were able to handcuff him, according to the court document.

Callahan later told police he went to the couple's home with a clear mission, according to the court document.

“Callahan stated that he knew what he did was wrong and that his intent was to instill fear in (the couple),” according to the court document.

Callahan is charged with burglary, two counts of threatening to commit a crime, two counts of simple assault and one count of resisting arrest, according to True, who said the cases against the 25-year-old are now expected to go to the Rockingham County grand jury.